8 + 5 = 13 Days in Disney World

[Sleepy90]

I'm in for a spin in the teacups with Len and Amy. How many can those things take and still get a good whizz going, I reckon if we all spun the wheel together we could maybe make someone barf. Anyone fancy being a guinea pig?

[Amy]

I'm in for a spin in the teacups with Len and Amy. How many can those things take and still get a good whizz going, I reckon if we all spun the wheel together we could maybe make someone barf. Anyone fancy being a guinea pig?

I have a pretty strong constitution so it probably wouldn't bother me. I would guess the more you pack in, the harder it would be to get going though. I would guess no more than 4 to a cup. They aren't very big. I was lazy and let NaCler do the spinning as my hands were full of camera that evening

[Len90]

It actually works best if you dedicate one person to spinning and have an agreement that if someone gets sick you DON'T slow down Anyone brave enough to join me... you have be warned!


Day 5 (8/23/11)

Today was a bit different as we had breakfast with the hatter (ADR at 1900 Park Fare). As you remember from last year this place was a huge hit for us and we had to try it out again. The food was really good but the characters were just okay this time. The hatter was not very good. He seemed to use just a couple of well-rehearsed lines and really limited his table interaction. The friendliest character of the bunch was Tigger. After breakfast we quickly checked out the gift shops while where I snagged a couple of great monorail pictures then it was off to Animal Kingdom.

AK is one park that we always drive to. It seems that it really saves a lot of time over the bus as you avoid Blizzard Beach. As we were walking in I could feel that this was going to be another hot and humid day. We started out heading over to Kilamanjaro Safari which was closed due to a truck breaking down. It had been down a while and there were signs that it was coming back on in just a couple of minutes. We hung around and sure enough it opened in 5 minutes. We were first in line and got front row on the first truck running through. It was weird to walk up and see all the trucks staged ready to roll and then the CMs applauding as guests started to file through the maze of ropes. The down time really helped out as the animals were around and hanging out close to the road. After the safari it was off to Asia with a possible stop at Kali or EE. The heat was brutal and our plans started to change drastically. Kali had a long wait and was not worth the couple of hours in fastpass time. We never made it to EE but did get to Dinosaur which gave us an air conditioned break. We left Dinosaur only to find out that there was an earthquake in the Northeast. The heat really got to us so we headed back to the resort for a quick dip.

We got to the pool and saw that a storm was coming in over the horizon. To this point we had really avoided the bad weather and had a ton of sun. In the middle of the main area the pool had a rope going across so you could play pool volleyball. A group of us somehow ended up getting a great game going that had some great competitiveness. We were all giving 110% effort to dive for the balls and the guards were letting us play on as the rain started to fall. Our game ended up getting called when the downpour started and the property went into weather 101. For those unaware weather 101 is a partial closing due to weather. All pools, outdoor attractions, and external character meet and greets close down until the lighting clears the property. We proceeded back to the room and showered since we had dinner reservations at Prime Time.

When we got to the lobby the resort was still in 101 status. The friendships were not running and the pool was closed. When this occurs separate bus transportation to EPCOT and DHS is provided but the buses will stop at all 5 resorts. Dinner at Prime Time was amazing. We once again were able to have Uncle Tim as our server and I went over the top this year. To start off, I took charge in improperly setting the table. I kept my elbows on the table, which got me a table full of ketchup. I talked back and chewed with my mouth open. That prompted me to get taken away from the table and brought over to the wall for some good old-fashioned sugar packet on the nose. The punishment was concluded with me sweeping the floor around my table. Tim heard we recently celebrated my birthday and Mark’s birthday was coming up. As a surprise he brought over a dessert with a candle in it for each of us. He also brought over another family to sing to us. It is a simple action like what Tim did that really showcases the Disney difference.

As it was still raining, we decided to head back over to the resort and take the car out to Orlando Premium Outlets Vineland instead of going to EPCOT for EMH. We quickly conquered the mall as we really only needed the Disney Outlet and headed over to World of Disney at DTD. A little trick if you want to shop there is get in shortly before closing as Disney will never throw you out of a store. We did our major shopping in which we ship most stuff back home. After shopping we headed over to the West Side for a snack where we cashed in our vouchers at Planet Hollywood.

[Sleepy90]

I'm guessing Mark has pictures of the naughtiness at Prime Time although I am a little shocked that they did not make you entertain with singing. You are lifting the anticipation now we are all waiting for pictures, we know you have them and you are just holding out on us

It actually works best if you dedicate one person to spinning and have an agreement that if someone gets sick you DON'T slow down Anyone brave enough to join me... you have be warned!

So we have the spinmaster . If we are ever in MK at the same time I am ready willing and able to ride those teacups. Bring it on young man

[Amy]

Sounds like another good day except for the weather. You really lucked out with the safari and the animals being close!
Blizzard Beach was closed while we were there so we avoided that stop on the buses ~ but we did have to stop at Typhoon Lagoon a few times.
Mmmm, sounds like a wonderful dinner at the Prime Time ~ you were your usual, awful, bratty self I hope there are lots of photos for that!!
Shopping late at night at the World of Disney sounds like a plan. The only problem is they offer a 20% off coupon starting just after Thanksgiving if you shop between 9 am and Noon. Savings wins out over less people for us!
What did you get with your voucher at Planet Hollywood? We were quite surprised the last time we went, we assumed that $15 would go a long ways there ~ boy were we wrong! We were more prepared this time around...
I'm still in for the teacup ride. I like the "if anyone get's sick, you DON'T slow down" mantra You might want to consider changing the spinning directions though

[Len90]

Haha too funny Amy. I actually believe in spinning one way. Changing directions will only slow you down and give people a chance to recover.

Shopping for us at DTD really doesn't matter as we have the 10% off at WoD. We get that through our AAA diamond card (perk of booking with AAA) or through the Disney Visa. Unfortunately discounts can't be combined. At Planet Hollywood we had $30 since we had two rooms. We only oredered soft drinks and a couple of appetizers which was perfect for a late night snack and was just over $30.

I cab promise that pictures from Prime Time do exist and will be shared in day 5! If all goes well day 6 will be up tonight...

[dstrawn9889]

planet hollywood ALSO takes DDP, well as of 2/14/11, that is...

[Amy]

Haha too funny Amy. I actually believe in spinning one way. Changing directions will only slow you down and give people a chance to recover.

Shopping for us at DTD really doesn't matter as we have the 10% off at WoD. We get that through our AAA diamond card (perk of booking with AAA) or through the Disney Visa. Unfortunately discounts can't be combined. At Planet Hollywood we had $30 since we had two rooms. We only oredered soft drinks and a couple of appetizers which was perfect for a late night snack and was just over $30.

I cab promise that pictures from Prime Time do exist and will be shared in day 5! If all goes well day 6 will be up tonight...

But if someone is hurling, changing the direction of spin might help you avoid the protein spill

planet hollywood ALSO takes DDP, well as of 2/14/11, that is...

Hmmm, didn't know that. Well, we had plenty of food as it was...

[mindflipper]

planet hollywood ALSO takes DDP, well as of 2/14/11, that is...

What's DDP? Is that an insecticide?

[dstrawn9889]

map shorthand

[dstrawn9889]

i'm gonna have to post some pics of my <UHHHHH, i mean my childrens', yeah, thats the ticket> HM pins...

[Amy]

i'm gonna have to post some pics of my <UHHHHH, i mean my childrens', yeah, thats the ticket> HM pins...

Those are awesome ~ especially the first one! What is the last one though

[dstrawn9889]

pin trading location...

these pics are from ebay... i gotta get out my Canon and my pin collection

[Len90]

Okay back to the report at hand... Things are really rolling here!

Day 6 (8/24/11)

We woke up and had a quick breakfast as opposed to the large buffet the prior mornings. After the breakfast it was off to the pool again. I worked on my slide progress but fear was setting in of falling short of my goal. We had to be quick as today we were aiming at getting to MK before the Celebrate a Dream Come True parade.

We got to MK with some time to spare and were able to pick a unique spot to watch the parade from. I personally was not a huge fan of it at the beginning but was happy we stayed as it ended up being a great spot. We followed the parade down Main Street and cut of at Adeventureland. I had already made contact with our resident CM packwingfn so I had known his hours. He was working ATT and we started out on our search to find him. It wasn’t too hard as we found him at the entrance to the Tiki Room. We stopped for a quick chat and picture then headed on in. I really advise everyone on this board to try and find Derek. He is one of the happiest people you will ever meet and really truly represents the vision of Walt. After Tiki we headed over to Pirates to sail the high seas. While in Pirates the rains moved in and luckily left as soon as they came. We decided to head back towards Jungle Cruise when we saw Derek out by Aladdin. We chatted for a bit and he warned us of the incoming hurricane. When we had left for WDW we were aware of this hurricane that was bound for Florida and would be impacting the area around the end of our stay. We shrugged it off and just in case packed for an extra two days. After all Orlando would be able to get going pretty fast after a storm…

The park resumed normal operations so of course we took a quick spin on the magic carpets. Afterwards we headed over to Pirate Goofy. We headed back towards the hub as we had an ADR at Crystal Palace. We figured we could kill some time on Main Street and I had the perfect thing to do. We caught most of Dream Along with Mickey and then just after that the 5:45 Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! started up. It was perfect, as I always wanted to squeeze both of those in but never seemed to luck out in catching them. Following that it was time for dinner at Crystal Palace. This restaurant was a new one for this year as we had not eaten here in a long time following a below average performance. I am really happy that we forgot about what had happened in the past because the food was amazing. I honestly think we ate more food here than on the rest of the vacation. The characters were personable and the service was great in keeping drinks filled and plates cleared. We definitely will be coming back and are actually considering this as our arrival night dinner instead of O’hana.

Following dinner we headed for a quick trip around the jungle. Our skipper was really not that good and I found it tough to laugh at any of his jokes. We took another trip around the Carpets, spoke to Derek and headed over to my future home, the Haunted Mansion. I really love what they did with the queue there. We made our way around the park to Buzz where my brother and I had a very close match and scored relatively high. I personally am terrible at Buzz and rarely will break 150,000. We ended up stopping for a bit so both Mark and I eclipsed 250,000 with me taking the victory. We decided to call it a night and quickly made our way to the exit before Wishes started so we could avoid the crowds. The night ended with another trip to DTD where we walked around and just enjoyed the night.

Up next Day 7: The day the hurricane spared Disney World.

[Amy]

I'm getting nervous about your slide record too But I'm thinking the extra 5 days might have allowed you to keep your goal
What sort of food was so good at the Crystal Palace? I've heard mixed reviews about the restaurant and am glad you enjoyed it so thoroughly this time around.
Sounds like you were seeing a lot more of the parades and shows this time around ~ did you like the Dream Along with Mickey show?
I learned to keep my mouth shut on scoring at Buzz. I might have challenged NaCler with disastrous results